Research and Innovation

The WP3 is divided as follows:

Joint Research Commission: is the decision-making body of the WP3.It consists of the vice chancellors for research or equivalent figures, belonging to each university in the alliance

Thematic clusters: There are 6 of them, composed of researchers from all universities. Each cluster is dedicated to a specific theme, which is of particular importance to the members of the alliance. Joint research activities are carried out within the clusters, building on the existing expertise, laboratories and research facilities in the partner institutions, through which they aim to develop an innovative and common approach that can serve as a model for other higher education and research institutions.

Cluster 1 - Emerging Paradigms for Health and Wellbeing

Cluster 2 - Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sustainability

Cluster 3 - Engineering and Technology for Sustainable Development

Cluster 4 - Sustainable Tourism for Cultural and Natural Heritage

Cluster 5 - Education Sciences for Sustainable Development

Cluster 6 - Challenges for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function. A macroregional assessment.

The European Taskforce: The Taskforce on European Projects works to stimulate new projects and to help researchers apply for funding, especially towards European Union funding.

in competitive calls and offering funding to secure long-term research topics. The Task Force meets regularly and works on joint strategic projects at the European and international level and establishes a proactive strategy towards Horizon Europe, specifically targeting some of its programs, e.g., mobility actions such as Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, specific topics within clusters, etc.

It is composed of European project leaders from all partner universities.

The PhD Council is composed of representatives from the Alliance's doctoral schools. Its purpose is to lead partner universities to even practices at the doctoral level. Within it, multiple initiatives are carried out, including the design and implementation of joint master's and doctoral programs, in collaboration with the Teaching Working Group; the Summer School dedicated to young researchers; and the establishment of a Career Development Center for researchers to provide them with quality career guidance and information services useful for managing career development and making effective career transitions, both in academia and business.

For information and to participate in activities please contact: 
Daniele Del Rio 
Marco Bartoli

Work Package 4 involves the development of four main initiatives:

1. Staff training, a training program dedicated to the staff of each university involved in technology transfer in order to enhance existing skills and build new ones (some topics covered by the training are, for example: intellectual property protection tools, stakeholder engagement, search for investors and external partners etc.).

2. Entrepreneur's Journey, dedicated to students, professors and researchers that pursues the goal of facilitating the spread of "entrepreneurial culture" within the network's nine partner universities, promoting and supporting the birth of startups and university spin-offs. The Program has an annual cadence and is developed in five phases:

- Inspiration Days: online meetings dedicated to the presentation of success stories aimed at inspiring the members of the EU GREEN network to create businesses;

- Innovation days: two-day competition dedicated to the formulation of innovative business ideas, based on the agrifood and biodiversity clusters. Notably, the University of Parma has been leading the design of the "Innovation Days" in 2024;

- Online Workshops: webinar series on topics such as intellectual property, business development, fundraising, and market access;

- Mentoring Program: online program dedicated to the accompaniment and growth of new business ideas with the involvement of industry experts;

- Sustainable Entrepreneurship Festival: the final event of the Program, which in 2024 was held in Évora, Portugal, where the entrepreneurial ideas developed during the pathway are presented in front of a panel of key stakeholders, aimed at recruiting, training, and final sharing of the entrepreneurial ideas developed during the pathway.

3. Local Innovation Hubs, i.e., the creation of a physical space within each Athenaeum that can promote interaction between internal and external stakeholders on issues of entrepreneurship and innovation.

4. Innovation Mapping Interface, creation of a platform that connects industries and universities, promoting collaboration between the two sectors.

The opportunities generated by WP4 activities are mainly as follows:

- strengthening university-industry linkages in the six research cluster sectors;

- strengthening innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer offices with state-of-the-art sustainability procedures;

- learning modalities that promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills with sustainable impact;

- promotion of shared entrepreneurship-oriented activities and creation of new startups and spin-offs in the area of sustainability;

- development of collaborative responses to regional challenges and dissemination of innovative solutions within the Alliance.

The contact person for WP4 activities is Daniel Milanese

Who is the competition for?
The competition is open to all doctoral students currently enrolled at one of the 9 partner universities of the EU GREEN project. Researchers who have already submitted their PhD dissertation and are in the process of preparing for defense are also eligible to participate.

Objective of the competition:In just 3 minutes, you should be able to present your dissertation project, simplifying it and highlighting the impact and results of your research. Your ability to communicate clearly, concisely and effectively without the aid of technological support (e.g, slides, if not a background, animations, music or other, as specified in the call).

How to participate:To participate, you will have to send a video in which you present your thesis, respecting the 3-minute limit, making sure to explain it in a simple way and describe the impact of the research.

Submission deadline: February 28, 2025.

Submission of video: [Upload your 3-minute video here].

Final in Parma, Italy (June 2025):The top 3 shortlisted applicants from each university will have the opportunity to participate allat the final event, which will be held during the Summer School in Parma, Italy (June 9-13, 2025). During the final, they will have to present their thesis live in front of an EU GREEN jury.

For more details, please download the official call.

For more info, contact Alix Blouët (EU GREEN Research Coordinator): alix.blouet@univ-angers.fr.

English Version here